Ritual, Ethics, and Our Gun Problem (portion Vayikra)

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The Eternal One called unto Moses, saying: “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: ‘When any of you bring a sacrifice to the Holy One, you shall bring your offering of cattle. . .’”

                                                -Leviticus 1

The sacrifices that you bring are futile; your incense is an abomination to me.
My soul loathes your celebration of the new moons and appointed festivals;
they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them.

Even though you offer up many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.

Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.

                                                -Isaiah 1

This coming Wednesday, March 14—exactly one month after the horrific Parkland shootings—students across America will walk out of their schools at 10:00 am

to protest the callous failure of our state and federal governments to take real action to halt the epidemic of gun violence plaguing America’s schools and neighborhoods.

Last week, my son, Jonah, asked Janet and me if we would support his participation in this protest.

I weighed his question in light of this week’s Torah portion, Vayikra.  From beginning to end, this parshah—which opens the book of Leviticus—is taken up with all the gory details of how our ancestors were to offer up their animal sacrifices.  It is, at first glance, a difficult portion to mine for meaning in our modern world, a lengthy description of rituals that are archaic for the vast majority of contemporary Jews.

Yet the portion takes on significant resonance when viewed through the words of prophets like Isaiah.  The prophets railed against the hypocrisy of those who are punctilious in their ritual observance yet lax in their social ethics.  They did not mince words in denouncing those who brought the sacrifices exactly as prescribed in our portion while oppressing the poor, widows, orphans, strangers and other vulnerable people living in their midst. 

The prophets thus remind us that ritual observance must be coupled with ethical behavior, or else it becomes an abomination in God’s eyes.  This concern remains all too relevant.

Many of our political leaders have responded to gun violence by offering their hopes and prayers.  This is the epitome of what the prophets—and God—deplore: pious words paired with immoral behavior.  To fail to address the sources of gun violence while praying for its victims is to profane the name of the Holy One.

So. . . How did I respond to Jonah’s question about participating in next Wednesday’s walkout?

I told him that I would have been deeply disappointed if he didn’t participate.